All Because of This Little Boy
by merissala
Summary: AU: Ryoma's parents are divorced but Ryoma doesn't remember why. Afterall, he was only four at the time. Now at 12 years old, he returns to Japan to meet his mother. Just for a month, he told himself. But there's more to it than that...
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

* * *

The four year old boy sat silently on a chair too big for him. It was dark brown, kind of comfy. Those kind of chairs you see in offices of doctors and lawyers and whatnot. He felt restless but knew he shouldn't move. His parents were beside him; dad on the left, mom on the right. His dad looked impatient and irritated, wanting to get whatever they doing over with. (What were they doing anyways?) His mother just looked tired, had wrinkles in places she shouldn't have at her age. She held a sleeping infant in her arms.

"I'm taking him with me.

"I won't let you."

"You don't deserve him."

"_I_ don't deserve him? You're never home!"

"I have work! I come home enough to see him!"

"He doesn't even know you!"

"That doesn't compare to what you did! That child in your arms is not-"

"YOU- don't you dare say it. It's your fault! Think about it! When_ was_ the last time you stepped into his room and kissed him goodnight!?"

Both parents stood up, seemingly ready to take the argument to the next level. The little boy stared up to his parents. His dad's expression was unlike his usual laid back one, he was angry. His mom was ready to throw a punch as she carried the baby in one arm. The boy shut his eyes, willing the yelling to stop. He covered his ears. Please, please, please, someone make them stop.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm and he was pulled roughly off the chair. "Come on boy, we're leaving this goddamn place." It was his dad.

The boy, surprised at the force his dad used, pulled away but with no avail. He turned to his mom, pleading that she would do something.

But she didn't. The look on her face was confusing to the little boy. She seemed angry, sad, hopeful and disappointed all at the same time. His dad led him out of the office, he obediently complied. He glanced at this mom once more, with the same pleading look. Mom, don't want to go...want to stay...

She turned away. The baby in her arms started to wail.

"Shhh, don't cry..."

Her voice faded as the little boy was pulled further down the hallway.

And that was the last time Echizen Ryoma saw his mother.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 1_**

* * *

Twelve year old Ryoma Echizen sat lazily on the couch, a chess board in front of him. It was hot. Really really hot. So hot Nanjirou wouldn't even let him play tennis. (Just cause he burned his skin earlier after four hours in the sun doesn't mean his dad gets to ban him from playing for the rest of the day!) Speaking of his stupid dad, he was on the phone, talking to someone and had left Ryoma alone for over an hour. Stupid old man, does he even realize he left in the middle of the game?

"DAD!" Ryoma yelled.

No answer. All was heard was a feint sound of conversation coming from where his dad was and the humming of the air conditioner. It wasn't supposed to hum, at least, the newer ones aren't. But sadly, his dad was too cheap to buy the more expensive, quieter ones. (But he said he got the old fashioned ones because they were the same ones from Japan.) Che, as if, Ryoma thought, he's just a cheap bastard.

"Dad..." he groaned. He felt like a cranky old man.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his dad returned to the couch.

"It's your move."

"Huh?" Nanjirou scratched his head. "Oh, right. We were playing, right. Haha..." He picked up his king and hovered it over Ryoma's pawns, then placed it several steps ahead where the king could actually move.

"...that's invalid." Ryoma stared at the impossibly stupid move his dad made.

"Eh? Oh, haha!"

Ryoma irritated at his dad laughing his ass off, frowned. Nanjirou moved his king to the right place and their game continued. Halfway through the game, Nanjirou went silent and looked in deep thought. Ryoma thought it was odd. His dad, in deep thought, and _silent_? What in the world?

"So who was it?"

"Hm?"

"On the phone."

"Phone...? Oh, it was a lawyer."

"For what?"

"Some legal stuff I gotta take care of...hey. Say... Ryoma, want to go to Japan?"

* * *

Ryoma grumpily sat on his desk. A giant textbook lay in the middle of it. Title: Japanese Characters. Subtitled: for dummies. Ryoma wanted to throw the book out of his window. Seriously, what the hell? Stupid old man suddenly wanted to go to Japan and because they are in the U.S. he didn't practice his Japanese a lot. (at all really.) And he forgot some of his writing, at least the little kanji he learned back in Japan grade school. (pretty much all of it) But Hiragana was like his english alphabet. Hard to forget this sort of basic stuff...maybe. Stupid old man, stupid old man, stupid old man!

He randomly flipped the book open.

Then immediately shut it.

No way in hell was he going to read it. He refused to. It was summer! He wanted to play tennis dammit!

After fuming silently, he opened the book again, this time to the index.

Stupid, stupid, stupid... ばか(baka). Old man, old man, old man... おやじ. (oyaji)

Baka oyaji.

He took out a sheet a paper and copied the characters for it. In under a minute, he filled up the front page.

There. Lesson for today.

He put it his name and date on the top right corner as his elementary school teachers taught him. He left his desk and gathered up his tennis gear to play. He went back to his desk, grabbed his paper, then promptly trudged downstairs to turn it in to his current 'teacher' .

* * *

"Hey Ryoma! I thought you were banned from playing today!" A green-eyed blond waved from the benches next to the school tennis courts. It was approximately three o'clock. And still, way too hot for tennis. Hey, like that'll ever stop Ryoma.

"Not a chance, like I'd listen to such nonsence coming from that baka oyaji."

"Hm? What's 'bad a oh whata'? Or did you say something else?"

"It's Japanese stupid... and bad a oh whata? That makes no sense at all. It's ba-ka-o-ya-ji." He pronounced the syllables slowly for the hearing-impaired friend of his.

The said stupid and hearing-impaired person gave Ryoma a puzzled look. "Ryoma, you're Japanese?"

Ryoma, in return, gave a dumbfounded look. But not one that look retarded like most people who are dumbfounded look like. "Kevin, in the four years we've known each other, how do you not know I'm Japanese? Don't I look like one?"

Kevin Smith, his best friend of elementary school and his first year in middle school. He was the first one to become friends with Ryoma when he first came to America. And now, well, he's the only person that's remained as his friend for that long. Ryoma's crude personality tends to drive people away in fear or hatred while Kevin's ...crazy...personality seemed to be drawn to these kinds of people. Sometimes, Ryoma thought Kevin was a little masochistic.

But, people say, everywhere they go, they were pretty much like this: and they show the middle and index finger interlocked.

Yep.

Best friends.

Whether Ryoma liked it or not.

Kevin laughed. "Oh right... I don't know really, it never occurred to me that you were. Man, but you're so white-washed I thought you didn't know anything but English!"

Ryoma scowled. "Of course I know. I'm not as dumb as you. And I am not white-washed-"

"Dude, you're as white as the blue-eyed blonde chick walking down street!"

As soon as Kevin said it, Ryoma whipped his head around to see this blue-eyed blonde chick. Kevin laughed even harder. "Bwahaha! I can't believe you thought there was one!" Ryoma's eyebrows slanted down. "Hahahahaa!" Kevin clutched his stomach as his laugh became almost uncontrollable. "Haaa...hehe, oww...it..hahahaa, hurts... to laugh..."

Ryoma just stared at his hysterical friend- no, hysterical stranger that he was to slowly back away from and find a... sane tennis player to practice or match with. He turned around and started walking towards the other tennis courts.

"Wait Ryoma..." Kevin pleaded, trying to stifle his laughing, "Sorry, sorry, I can play now."

Ryoma continued to stare blankly.

"C'mon, I already apologized. Warm up?"

Warm up in this weather? There was no need to. He and Kevin already looked like they just came out of a steaming house.

But Ryoma nodded anyways.

"Mini-tennis yeah?" The service line was the court. It helped with controlling. And it was fun... if the players were good.

"So, what's with the sudden Japanese?" A nice mini rally was going.

"My old man said we're going to Japan." The ball whizzed right over the net.

"What?" The ball went right pass Kevin.

"What are you what-ing for? I said, me and my dad are going to Japan."

"I know what you said! Why? What for? How long?"

_"Hey. Say... Ryoma, want to go to Japan?"_

_"Why?"_

_"To visit your mother of course! Why else?"_

_Two weeks until school started. Plenty of time for a visit._

_"Sure."_

_"Alright, well get packing. Our flight's tomorrow."_

_"Ehhh!? You already had the tickets?!"_

_Nanjirou smiled stupidly, "Yep. Oh, also there's a Japanese textbook on your desk. Go learn something."_

_"Dad. It's summer."_

_"Exactly why you need to do some homework. Now get packing Ryoma! Tomorrow, early morning!"_

_Ryoma groaned._

"I'm moving there." He said in a monotonous voice.

"What? When was this decided!?"

"Quite some time." Ryoma started the rally again.

"And you tell me now!? What the hell Ryoma!" Kevin missed the ball.

Ryoma kept an expressionless face as Kevin looked at it with horror.

And Kevin gaped.

And stared.

And if Ryoma looked closely, he could see a little water about to come out of Kevin's eyes.

"Che." Ryoma smirked, then laughed a little, "Just kidding. Why would I move to Japan? No point."

Kevin sighed in relief then wiped whatever was streaming down his face. "What a RELIEF! I thought you were serious!"

"As if, but my flight's tomorrow, so I gotta go pack. See ya when school starts." He placed his racket in his racket bag and zipped up his stuff.

"Wait, flight? I thought you weren't serious about going!"

Ryoma rose an eyebrow. "Didn't I say? I'm going to Japan. Just not forever."

Kevin looked at Ryoma with sparkling eyes.

"Ryoma! I'll miss you!" Kevin grabbed him and hugged tightly. Death grip!

"Alright, alright! Now stop being gay! You're killing me!"

Kevin let go. "Okay," he said, still teary eyed, "See yah."

Ryoma's lips curved upwards. "Bye."

* * *

"I'm back." Ryoma said to particularly no one as he entered his house.

"_Tadaima_! Means_ you're home_!" Nanjirou shouted. "You ready for tomorrow!?"

"I just got back! Does it look like I'm ready?"

Nanjirou disregarded his comment, "Oh yeah, saw your homework!" He grinned. "Good job!"

Ryoma sighed at his dad. Was he drunk or something? He was way too happy. This was unusual if he wasn't drunk.

He sniffed.

Nope, no alcohol, beer, or anything. It was just plain old dad.

Ryoma headed for the stairs to his room.

"Hold on! Ryoma, what size are you? Medium? Small? ...extra small?"

Ryoma glared and growled. "Small is...my size."

Nanjirou ignored the glare and continued being happy. "OK! You're set! Long day tomorrow!"

The younger Echizen stomped up the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2

* * *

It wasn't until Ryoma had gotten off the plane at Narita Airport and was waiting for his dad to come back from the restroom that he realized he had not been to Japan since he was little. His mom always came to America to visit occasionally but never was it the other way around. He couldn't remember the time when he lived with both his mom and dad. But his mom was his mom; he kind of missed his mom. He never knew why his dad disliked visiting his mother in Japan. Then again, they were divorced. Not that he knew why either.

What the hell was taking _oyaji_ so long?

He picked up his tennis bag and took out his cellphone to call his dad.

"The number you have dialed-" Beep. Right. He was in Japan. His phone didn't work.

Now how was he supposed to find his dad?

Ryoma sighed and plopped down in a free seat. He closed his eyes. 13 hours of sleep really did make people more tired. And come to think of it, he had not played tennis for almost an entire day now. He was getting a bit irritated - his skin needed the sun and his body itched to play tennis.

He stretched his muscles while looking out for his dad. He saw an old couple with their baggage, a bunch of screaming kids with a woman. He saw two girls giggling, pointing at some picture, a short black haired boy sitting down on the floor, an old man smoking…

Wait. People weren't supposed to sit on the floor of the airport were they? It was kind of dangerous.

Ryoma just stared at the little boy staring at people passing by. It was funny how neither no one noticed the little boy nor cared that there was a short black haired boy sitting in the middle of everyone's paths.

"Hey. That's dangerous," Ryoma said.

The little boy just continued to stare at people. Hmph, he probably didn't hear Ryoma. "Hey," he said, this time a little louder as he got up to get closer to the boy, "You shouldn't be sitting there."

The boy looked up with a blank stare.

"Hey. Are you listening-" Ryoma stopped. He was speaking English in a foreign country. Obviously the boy would not understand. "_Omae…" _He pointed to where the boy was sitting, "_Abunai_."

The boy stared then made an interesting face at Ryoma.

Ryoma deadpanned. There wasn't much Japanese he could remember. He never spoke it at home. Apparently he spoke it fluently a long time ago. However, he didn't talk much back then. Psh. Nothing was working for him.

So Ryoma just crouched down next to the boy. The boy didn't seem to mind. Or care.

"_Boku wa Ryoma_... _omae…namae wa_?" He really needed to work on this language. But the boy seemed to understand anyway.

He smiled and said, "Ryo."

"Not my name..." Ryoma pointed at himself: "Ryoma." Then pointed at the boy with a questioning look on his face.

The boy nodded repeated, "Ryo!"

"Ryoma! I'm glad I found you!" Came a voice speaking in English from not too far. It was Nanako, his 18-year old cousin.

"Hello," he replied, getting up from the floor.

"Ah! It seems like you have met this little guy here too!" Nanako smiled, ruffling the little boy's hair.

"He yours?" Ryoma asked.

She laughed, "Ryoma, how old do you think I am?" She playfully made an angry face while bringing the little boy up to his feet. "Where's oji-san?"

"As if I have a clue. My cell phone doesn't work here. He went to the restroom and hasn't come back since," Ryoma trailed, lazily looking around for the restroom while putting his phone away.

"Nanako-chan!" An obnoxious voice chirped. Must be his oyaji back from his trip to the restroom. "Oh, you have found Ryoma. And this must be-"

"Yes, yes. We have been waiting for you. I have the cab outside, let's go?" Nanako's seamless ability to change from English to Japanese made him wish he practiced his Japanese speaking more. He understood the gist of what they had said, but not completely. Oyaji's words were all happy and accented oddly and Nanako spoke a bit too fast for him.

"Ryoma, we're going home**," **Nanjirou tweeted; he seemed unnaturally happy.

"Home?" Ryoma thought, for a second, that he was back in America. "Oh, right. You mean Mom's place right?"

Nanjirou chuckled. "Let's go."

* * *

"So how old is he?" Ryoma asked. They were on the cab, still a couple miles away from his mother's house. The car was silent. His dad had fallen into deep slumber. The little boy was also asleep. Ryoma wasn't tired though; he felt a bit lethargic and annoyed at the same time. He felt sore from the plane ride and just wanted to play some tennis.

"He's 7-years-old, about to turn eight," Nanako replied, but then pulled a questioning look.

Ryoma nodded, not noticing Nanako's expression. The boy looked like he could pass for a 1st grader. "I had asked him earlier but what's his name?" Ryoma glanced to the little boy.

"Eh? Well, his name is Ryota," Nanako hesitant answer confused Ryoma a bit.

"Are you babysitting him or something?"

"For now, yes... when your mother is not able to take care of him."

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. This conversation just made him very confused.

"We're here!" yelled a very loud oyaji. He had awoken without Ryoma's knowing.

Ryoma looked out the window. It was a big house. Almost as big as the his house in America. There was a lawn in front, not surprising, but then he noticed all the other houses nearby didn't have a lawn. The house looked very western style, and Ryoma was certain that Japanese homes looked a bit different. Maybe the inside would look different. He stepped out of the car. Nanako got out with him, but not before tapping Ryota's shoulder to wake him up.

"Where's mom?" Ryoma suddenly asked.

"It's _Okaa-san_! Since you're in Japan, you should practice your Japanese!" Nanjirou completely didn't answer his question.

"Where's Okaa-san?" He replied briefly in Japanese.

"Ryoma." A soft voice spoke. A young looking woman appeared from the back gate that connected to the front lawn.

"Kaa-san, how are you doing...?" He remembered that _Kaa-san _was a more informal way to refer to his mother. He looked at his mom. She looked a bit older since the last time he saw her, and a lot more tired too. Her voice didn't sound as energetic, and she seemed like she was in dire need of some sleep. It had been nearly five years since he's seen her. Of course she'd be a little different. "You look like you haven't gotten sleep in ages."

His mom laughed, "Oh, Ryoma. Funny as always. I've just been worn out from all the trips I've taken these couple of months."

"What trips?" Somehow, Ryoma realized, he was asking a lot of questions today. But that was only because people gave such ambiguous answers.

"Mom! You're back!"

Ryoma turned around. Huh?

Ryota was running straight towards him.

Then ran past him.

Right into his mom's arms.

"Hey Ryota," she ruffled his hair. "You missed me?"

"Yes," Ryota answered honestly, "I missed you a lot!"

Ryoma just stood there. Now, officially, completely lost in the conversation. What just happened? Why was the little boy, Ryota, calling _his_ mom, 'mom'? Wasn't he just some kid Nanako had to babysit? And what of Nanako's words when she said that she babysat him with his mom couldn't? Where was his dad? What in the world was going on?

"Kaa-san?" Ryoma gave her a quizzical look.

His mom looked at Ryoma, and suddenly frowned. "Ryoma...This is- Did your dad not tell you? Oh that stupid man," she mumbled the second part a bit to herself. She then softened her harsh look and gave Ryoma a gentle smile. "Ryoma dear," she started.

"HEY! Will someone give me a hand with all the baggage?" Nanjirou shouted from the background, somewhere where the cab was.

"Ah. I will..." Nanako called, feeling that the three should be left alone.

Ryoma watched Nanako walk away. "Yeah mom?"

She sighed. This was harder than she thought. "This boy here... he's my son."

Ryoma gaped, slightly.

"In other words, Ryota... is your little brother."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

* * *

_I have a little brother._

_I have a little brother._

_How old is he? Nanako said that he's about to turn eight. That means, I've had a little brother for almost eight years._

Ryoma had been at a loss of words when his mom told him. How come he didn't know earlier? Why was this so shocking to him? Usually, things don't faze him. He took things as they were and kept life simple; didn't have to think about anything so thoroughly. That was why he was so good at all his subjects - follow the directions, and if things don't make sense, think about it a bit more, as the answer was usually just below the surface. Tennis too, required no thinking for him. He played however he liked; he was a natural at it.

Shortly after the initial shock, Ryoma replied in a curt manner, and turned around to help his dad with the luggage. Nanako-nee-san showed him to his new room inside his mom's house.

The house had a traditional looking downstairs, with sliding doors that opened to a wide garden and a tennis court. Ryoma thought he was tired before but immediately forgot about it when he saw the courts. He wanted to play tennis, and he wanted to play now. He had to call Kevin; that guy had to see this...right. He was thousands of miles away from home. What good was a tennis court with no one to play with? Ryoma lugged his belongings up the stairs to his temporary room (room for the month sounds a bit awkward). His room was very plain. Just a bed, a window, a bathroom with a shower, and a desk with a computer; it wasn't much. He threw himself onto the bed.

One month.

He had to stay here for one month. Afterall, school would be starting in September - no way he could stay longer. He closed his eyes and started to ponder.

_Ryota. I wonder what it means,_ Ryoma thought. He got up and turned on the computer.

Ryoma typed up the name on the web.

Ryota - Meaning of the name: Splendidly stout.

Ryoma gave an incredulous look the computer and smirked a bit. That name was quite.. fitting. Unlike Ryoma's name, which he found out, that meant dragon horse. Weird. His name was weird. But what was weirder was that he had a brother. The fact had sunk in again. It was strange; he had been an only child his entire life - or so he thought. Now that he had a little brother... now that he had a little brother...

Nothing changed, he thought again. Just because he now has a little brother doesn't mean that anything changed. He wasn't going to suddenly have to live with this stranger for the rest of his life anyway. He was only here to visit his mother for a month and to take a vacation.. sort of. Ryoma decided he would not let this tiny detail change anything in his life. He would be in Japan for a month and he would eat, sleep, and play tennis all the same. There was nothing to it. Nope. Nothing at all.

_I wonder if Ryota plays tennis?_

* * *

_The fire crackled in the Echizen household. Nanjirou stood next to the fireplace, a phone in his hand. He was distressed and he looked miserable. He was a bit angry, that's for sure. Four-year-old Ryoma had crawled downstairs for a glass of water and a possible midnight snack. He noticed his dad standing near the fire, a cross look on his face:something Ryoma didn't see very often. It seemed like a bad time to go through the living room to the kitchen, but he was so thirsty..._

_So he stood behind the corner and waited._

_Tou-san didn't notice him. Only continued his conversation on the phone._

_"So where are you now?"_

_A moment of silence passed; the other person must have been talking._

_"Well alright, it doesn't matter. We're done anyway. You're staying, I'm going. You keep that bloody bastard and I'm keeping Ryoma. If I had it my way... you would never see this child ever again!"_

_Ryoma winced when he heard Tou-san yell._

_"Ryoma is sleeping, it's fine. Jesus, why did you have to go and complicate things?"_

_There was silence yet again. Ryoma felt uneasy, staying in the room. Who was Tou-san talking to anyway? Where was Kaa-san?_

_"I couldn't care less. We're leaving tomorrow. Nothing of ours will be here..."_

_Though Ryoma was young and still didn't know who Tou-san was talking to, he could tell that whoever Tou-san was talking to was making him sad._

_"Goodbye, Rinko, have a nice life."_

_Ryoma never got his water and midnight snack. He stayed behind his corner, listening to his dad cry and cry._

* * *

It was approximately 1AM when Ryoma woke up. It should have been late morning back in America - he usually woke up early in the morning. Ryoma rubbed his eyes and yawned. Why is it so hot? he wondered. The air conditioning seemed to have stopped running. He walked over to his window and opened it. A slight breeze came in; he felt a little cooler, but not much.

Might as well get a drink of water.

He made his way downstairs. The floors creaked with every step. He didn't want to wake anyone so he walked a little slower and the creaks softened.

He had reached the bottom of the stairs when he began to hear some muffled voices. What was that? Ryoma followed the voices, wondering if someone had broken in.

"...so how long do you plan on keeping this up?" Sounded like dad.

"What are you talking about? And how come you never told Ryoma about Ryota?" _Kaa-san._

"Never had a chance to bring it up. Besides, there'd be no reason to tell him."

"No reason to tell him? He's his brother for goodness sake! He should know!"

"That boy is no son of mine!"

And some coughing was heard. "You-" Kaa-san's speech was cut off by more coughing.

What did dad mean by that? Ryoma inwardly shrugged. Probably because Ryota was with Kaa-san all these years. It seemed like they were just having an argument. Like more divorced parents anyway. But then why would his dad want to fly to Japan to visit Kaa-san? He hadn't been visiting Kaa-san in Japan for eight years so why now? Ryoma disregarded the thought. It seemedunimportant and irrelevant. Onto the kitchen for his water. He continued to walk silently.

Nanjirou sighed, "Why aren't you in the hospital anyway?"

Ryoma stopped. His abrupt step made a creak.

"Who's there?" Nanjirou said.

Ryoma walked into the light to where his parents could see him, "Came to get a drink of water. What are you guys doing awake?"

"Ryoma, you..." Kaa-san started, but then stopped, not knowing what to say.

"So, _gaki_, drink of water? How about some coffee?"

"No thanks dad. Goodnight." Ryoma walked off to the kitchen. He could imagine the tension between dad and kaa-san.

As soon as he was out of sight, he heard his parents talk again.

"I'll tell him soon."

"When you faint in the middle of the day and are on the way to the hospital? He might just freak out."

Silence.

Ryoma assumed they thought he was out of earshot too.

"Soon. And I mean it."

"You better."

Ryoma stayed in the kitchen and fell asleep on the table. So many thoughts roamed this mind and he didn't know what to think anymore. Maybe he was just dreaming.


End file.
